Gotta Make …

I need to get a better photo, but I wanted to go ahead and show it. I love, love, love the hand-dyed Scotian Silk yarn this kit came with. Sounds expensive, but it only takes one hank, so it really isn’t bad. The camera can’t catch the subtle sheen and the wonderful softness of it. I wasn’t too sure how this vest was going to turn out. I tried it on before blocking and it fit very close, though it was so stretchy that it didn’t feel tight, and it was very short. Barely to my waistband. The instructions said you would gain 2″ in blocking and they were correct. It was no problem at all to stretch to that much for blocking and I probably could have stretched it even longer. The whole character of the stitch pattern changed after blocking. It was like a mini-miracle! It was no longer bulky and ribbed looking, and clingy, and it gained a very nice drape. If you knit this, don’t skip the blocking! I modded it a bit to narrow the shoulders and make the overlap part continue on down to a narrower finished edge. I’m not flat-chested like the model and didn’t want to be pinning it shut in an awkward spot.

Click this one to see a closeup of the yarn and the clasp. The clasp is a hair ornament I bought at the local Renaissance Faire. I had intended to get a cloak clasp or shawl pin, but she had sold out of those and I thought this would work just as well.

Here’s my progress on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. Instead of starting from the bottom up, I started at the yoke area with a provisional cast on. Later, I’ll pick up there and knit down so I can adjust it to fit. I need a different size for the top and bottom and none of the sizes listed were quite right. I thought this might be a good solution and Eunny assures me it should work. Let’s hope I can pull it off! The blue line is a lifeline I put in because I am also trying to make the fron neck fall just a bit lower and since I didn’t bother to calculate it, it’s kind of a hit or miss thing. The lifeline will let me easily frog back if I need to.

Last night, I followed her instructions (in Knitting from the Top) for seamless set-in sleeves from the top down. Click the thumbnail to see how this is working out. I think it’s wonderful! The sleeve gets distributed perfectly evenly into the armscye with no puckering and the best part is I don’t have to sew it in! Being able to try it on for length as I knit down is also a plus, since I have long arms. I need to get a shorter needle before I continue on down the sleeve, but I’m very happy with this technique. Also, you can’t really tell from teh photo, but there are no shoulder seams!

Here’s a closeup of the cables at the bottom of the sweater. I gradually added increases between the cables to make this part flare out over my hips.

I know the photo is awful, but I’ll have a better one soon. This is what I’ve been working on lately. A top-down sweater with set-in sleeves. Not raglan sleeves, which most top-downs feature and which I look horrible in. And I’ve been trying it on every so often, so I know it fits. It is knit on a circular, back and fronts all at once. No seams. Easy to try on as you go! That is the very reason I’ve always wanted to knit top-down. I need different sizes for my shoulders, bust, and hips. I love that you can try on the top-down sweaters as you go and adjust.

A couple of years ago, I bought Knitting from the Top by Barbara Walker because it included instructions for set-in sleeve sweaters knitted top-down. Notice that I said instructions, and not patterns. I read it but with the math and all, it just seemed a bit intimidating. Whenever I was ready to start a new project, I didn’t want to take the time to measure, calculate, and figure out how to start. I just wanted to start. This time, I made myself do it. I had a design in mind and made myself start and really, it wasn’t difficult. I just had to make notes about each step so if I left it for a couple of days, I’d be able to tell what I was doing. I’m loving the results, so far. A sweater that fits my narrow shoulders, and my average bust and my big hips. Now I need to read the part on knitting the sleeves from the sleeve cap down. No sewing them in later! Wish me luck.

I rarely buy the fall or winter issue of IWK, because it is just too hot here for wool sweaters and those issues are always wool, wool, wool. I was having a latte at Barnes and Nobles last weekend and picked up the current issue to browse and fell hard. Usually, there might be one thing that I really like and think I would actually wear. This time there were several. So many that I couldn’t decide which to start with. My favorites were the Tangled Yoke cardigan, Mininimalist cardigan, Mirepoix bodice, Tilted Duster, and the Cinnabar pullover. Previews can be http://www.interweaveknits.com/preview/2007_fall.asp .

Time to narrow it down! Love the Tilted Duster, but probably the hottest of them and therefore the least likely to be worn much. Cinnabar would need a bit of modification because I can’t stand anything that high up on my neck and would probably really need that lovely soft merino to look it’s best. Wool in a pullover is more ridiculous in this climate than wool in a cardigan, that can at least be removed when in danger of a meltdown. Since the Mirepoix bodice is fairisle and requires steeking, it really needs to be wool, and it’s a pullover. But so cute! Ok, that leaves the Minimalist Cardigan and the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. The minimalist is 3/4 sleeve, either sport or dk weight, and NOT a pullover. I love the simple kimono front panels and the texture. It looks comfy and easy to wear. If something isn’t comfy, I won’t wear it. Tangled Yoke is also a cardi but I’m not sure I will look good in that round yoke style. I need set-in sleeves. I look awful in raglans and this is a relative of raglans. I’d better go with the Minimalist.

….And then I surfed over to Elann to see if they had any suitable yarn and noticed that Mister Joe Blanket was the right gauge for Tangled Yoke, came in the color I wanted for it (stone) and looked oh, so soft. It is 50% wool, but maybe I can get by with that much. It is single ply so I’ll need to be careful on the cables, I think. I guess I just coudn’t resist that cable. If you have fallen for it too, the knit-along is here.